the Ashen Stair

The Ashen Stair runs from the burnt capital's cellars down into the underworld, Ashfall above, Deepfall below, one grief with two addresses and one staircase between them. It was the old capital's service way once; in the burning it was the way out, and the stair's walls still carry the soot-shadows of the descent, three centuries of pilgrims' hands keeping them clean of ash out of respect. The unwritten toll of the Stair is observed by everyone including the outlaws: you carry something down for Deepfall, or you carry word up for Ashfall, and nobody walks it empty-handed.